Through the Long Nights
by Vol lady
Summary: It is late 1879 and Audra has come home from her travels, bringing a budding love for someone close to home, but also a nasty fever.
1. Chapter 1

Through the Long Nights

Chapter 1

Late Autumn, 1879

She came dancing off the train as if she hadn't even come several days from Washington on that rolling prison cell. Her mother and her brothers Nick and Heath were there to greet her, huge smiles on their faces. In moments she was in Nick's arms and he was whirling her around in circles.

"Oh, it's so good to be home!" Audra said when Nick put her down.

"Girl, you're more beautiful than ever," Heath said as he got his welcome hug and kiss.

Then Victoria gathered her only daughter into her arms. "Audra, Audra, it's so good to have you home at last! I thought you were going to be like Eugene and never come back!"

"I saw Eugene in Washington," Audra said. "He sends all his love and promises he'll be back for a visit by spring. He is so busy with his practice, he says he can hardly get away to catch a nap, but he looks wonderful – AND he's seeing someone new! She's a Congressman's daughter, from Illinois, and she is so beautiful!"

Nick and Heath rounded up Audra's bags and the four of them headed for the surrey parked not far down the street.

Audra kept chattering and holding her mother's arm as they walked. "I loved Washington. It is so beautiful. And Baltimore was so elegant – so many very educated people there that Eugene knew, so much to talk about. And England! And Rome, oh, Mother, Rome was the most glorious place I've ever seen!"

They made it to the buggy, and Victoria and Audra climbed into the back seat while Nick and Heath loaded her bags and climbed into the front seat. Nick drove, turning the surrey carefully and heading down the street.

Audra suddenly quit chattering when she saw her brother Jarrod's office – except it wasn't his anymore. His sign and name had been removed. She didn't understand. "Mother – what's happened to Jarrod's office? Has something happened to him?"

"No, no," Victoria said. "He's fine. He's just decided to move to San Francisco permanently and his practice is there now."

Victoria had said it so plainly that Audra couldn't believe it. It was like it didn't matter to anyone that Jarrod was gone. "When did this happen?!"

"A few weeks ago," Victoria said. "Don't worry, darling, it's not like he's forgotten us. He simply – well, he simply needed to live and work in San Francisco now. It's all right. Don't worry about it."

"Well, I'm disappointed. It's been so long since I've seen him."

"You'll see him again soon. He knew you were coming and he'll be here in a few days for a visit."

Heath leaned over the back of his seat. "So, how many hearts did you break in Europe, Sis?"

Audra laughed. "As many as I could. But I have to admit, I never met any man as handsome as my own brothers."

Nick and Heath laughed. Nick said, "The girl's come home needing glasses!"

XXXXXXXX

"Silas!" Audra cried on seeing their houseman as soon as she came into the door, and in a moment she was in his arms.

"Oh, Miss Audra, welcome home!" Silas cried. "Let me look at you!"

Audra stepped back, smiling.

Silas smiled and shook his head. "You are even more beautiful than ever, Miss Audra."

"I'm so happy to be home, Silas. I've missed everyone so much, especially you and your scrambled eggs. I never found any food anywhere are good as yours."

"Oh, now you're telling fibs," Silas said, wagging a finger.

Audra hugged him again. "No, I'm not, Silas. You are the best."

Nick and Heath came in with Audra's bags. "We're gonna take these right up to your room," Nick said.

"Thank you," Audra said, and she went into the parlor and fell into the settee. She looked all around the parlor and the foyer and teared up. "I loved traveling, but I'm so glad to be home again."

"Would you like some tea, Miss Audra?" Silas asked.

Victoria said, "Oh, yes, some tea would be perfect, Silas."

Silas left to prepare it.

Victoria sat down beside her daughter and took her hands. "I've missed you so much," she said. "I was half afraid you'd be like Eugene and find you didn't want to come home at all."

"Oh, no, Mother," Audra said. "Being home is wonderful. I don't think I'll want to go traveling again for a long time, if ever."

"I wanted you to see the world before you settled down. You know, if you ever do want to go to live somewhere else, I would be broken-hearted, but I would understand completely."

"No," Audra said. "I want to stay here. Mother – how is Carl Wheeler?"

Victoria's eyebrows went up.

"I found myself starting to think about him as soon as the train got through the plains and to the mountains," Audra said. "Has Carl ever married?"

"No, he hasn't," Victoria said.

"I wonder how he'd feel if I visited him."

"I don't know. Audra – have you had romantic thoughts about Carl again?"

Audra blushed. "Yes, I have. I thought about who I ought to settle down with, whether there was anyone here in Stockton I wanted to be with, and Carl came right into my mind. Am I being foolish?"

"No, I don't think so, but you might talk to Nick about it before you talk to Carl. Nick would know more about him that I do."

Audra grew thoughtful then. "Mother, why did Jarrod move to San Francisco?"

Victoria patted her hand. "We've had a few problems around here since you've been gone."

"Not someone trying to kill the boys again."

"No, actually, we've solved that problem. Jarrod moved to San Francisco and found the answer within days. He wouldn't say who put him onto the woman behind it, but it's over now. Over and done."

"Is that why he moved?"

Victoria sighed. "He's been involved in some – secret goings on. He was afraid the family would be hurt by what he was doing. We WERE hurt by one thing that fortunately cleared up but he didn't want that to happen again, so he moved."

"Oh, Mother, first Eugene and now Jarrod – "

"Ah, Audra, one thing a mother has to learn to accept from the moment her children are born. They will grow up and they will leave. It's the way of things. One day, you will marry and you will leave."

Audra laughed. "I can't imagine that happening, but if it does, I won't go very far away."

"You'll go where your heart calls you, and I will let you go without a lot of moaning and crying about it."

Nick and Heath came back downstairs, Heath saying, "Sis, you have a bunch of unpacking to do. I think you came home with twice what you left with."

"We're going to have some tea," Victoria said. "Why don't you both stay long enough to join us?"

"Sounds good to me," Nick said. "We thought we'd get a couple chores around here done this afternoon anyway."

Silas brought the tea in, with the pot and four cups. As he sat it down on the coffee table, Audra said, "Oh, Silas, please bring a cup for yourself."

"Oh, Miss Audra – " Silas was about to protest that it would not be proper.

"By all means," Victoria said. "This is a small celebration for the entire household."

Silas smiled and went to fetch a cup for himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, immediately after a breakfast of Silas's scrambled eggs, Audra had a long, happy talk with her horse, who seemed almost happy to see her again. Audra saddled up and took off on a ride, and her horse seemed thrilled to be running out in the morning air.

Nick and Heath had already gone out to be with the herd of cattle near the north ridge, and Audra went out to be with them. She didn't have to rein her horse in when they approached the herd – her horse seemed to remember that charging too quickly toward a herd of cattle would frighten the animals into stampeding.

Audra saw her brothers and approached at a slow trot.

"Well, look who's come to help us drive these fat animals to water," Nick said as Audra pulled up beside him.

"Not me," she said. "I'm only out riding and enjoying the morning. It's been so long since I've been on a horse, I think I might actually be sore when I get home."

Heath rode up to them. "We sure could use the help, Sis. I hear you were pretty good at things while Jarrod and I were in New York."

"I was the cook and drove a wagon, not cattle," she said. "Nick, I thought I might ride over and pay a visit to Carl Wheeler. Do you think that would be all right?"

"I think he'd love to see you," Nick said. "He was asking about you just last week. I think he has his herd just the other side of the East Creek."

"I'll see you boys later," Audra said and was off again.

They watched her go. Heath said, "I think our sister got a bit homesick for somebody other than us."

"Uh-huh," Nick said. "And I think somebody other than us missed her."

"Really?"

"Carl asked about her almost every week she was gone. I think we might have us a brother-in-law before too very long."

XXXXX

It took half an hour of riding before Audra found Carl Wheeler and his herd. She couldn't believe how her heart started pounding when she caught sight of him. It hadn't done that the few times she thought about him while she was in Europe, but now – bam!

Was it possibly true that you grew more fond of someone when he was nowhere around? For months he had been out of reach and she hadn't reacted at all to the thought of him, but now here he was, only a few hundred yards away and she couldn't contain her excitement. Had she actually come to be more in love with him while she was gone?

She slowed to a trot as she moved toward him. He was talking to one of his men, but the man rode off, and Audra was afraid for a moment that Carl would leave, too, but he turned and saw her. And he smiled so big she grew even more excited. He came riding toward her.

"Hello, Carl," she said as he pulled up beside her, and then she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Audra!" he said. "When did you get back?"

"Yesterday," she said.

"You've been gone so long – I was half afraid I'd forget what you look like."

"Did you forget?"

"No," he said, very softly. "Not a bit. How did you like your trip?"

"Oh, it was wonderful, but I'm glad to be home," she said, and then she was out of words again. She looked down at the ground and just laughed.

"Was it that funny?" Carl asked.

"No, not at all," Audra said. "I guess I'm just getting a little tongue-tied."

"Why? It's only me."

"I guess that's why I'm getting tongue-tied. I missed you, Carl. I really did."

His smile turned soft, his handsome face growing even more handsome. "I really missed you, too."

XXXXXXX

Audra was late arriving for lunch, and Victoria had been a bit worried, but she came bouncing into the dining room when Victoria was nearly finished, saying, "I'm sorry I'm late. It's been a busy morning."

Victoria was relieved to see her. "What did you do? Visit every friend you have?"

"No," Audra said, sitting down and reaching for some roast beef. "Just the boys and Carl Wheeler."

"You spent all this time with Carl Wheeler?"

"Well, he had made some improvements to the ranch he wanted to show me."

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"Brand new holding corral out in his west pasture, new stable next to his house, new windmill driven well – things like that."

"He's done a lot since you've been gone."

"Says they needed to be done before winter sets in. He asked me to a dance in town Saturday night."

"I assume you accepted."

"I did. It was wonderful to see him again. It's funny, how going away for so long made me – I don't know, made me more satisfied with what I've had here at home."

"You've been sowing your wild oats, dear."

"None of the boys took big world tours to sow theirs."

"No, but men are different, and for that matter every person is different. Running the ranch since your father died sowed Nick's for him – to the extent they really are sowed, and that's debatable."

Audra laughed.

"Jarrod – I guess the war sowed his for him. He served longer than Nick did, and he saw a bit more. Anyway, he came back much more certain about what he wanted to do in life than when he left. Nick, he didn't settle down one bit during the war. He was still too young, I guess."

"Mother – how would you feel if Carl and I – I mean, if he asked me to marry him?"

Victoria put her fork down. "Do you expect him to ask you?"

"No, not anytime soon, I don't think. But if he did – what would you think?"

Victoria smiled. "If you wanted to marry him, I would be pleased. You'd be nearby, and I know he'd provide for you very well. And he and Nick have been friends for years – he'd never hurt you, or Nick would have at him for it, and he knows that."

Audra laughed again. "You know, I really missed my brothers while I was gone. I didn't have them to depend on – I was on my own if I got hurt."

"Did you get hurt?"

"Just a little, once or twice. Nothing big – I didn't know anyone well enough to be really hurt. But I did feel vulnerable. It made me more reserved. Maybe that's how I sowed my wild oats."

"Time will tell," Victoria said. "But in the meantime, if you want something more serious with Carl, then let him know."

"How?"

Victoria smiled. "You'll find a way."

XXXXXXXX

Nick came into the house on Friday evening, a bit more quietly than was his usual entrance. He had been in town all afternoon with the family lawyer, and he looked like he wanted to grumble about Jarrod leaving them on their own again, but he was carrying a telegram.

"Jarrod's not coming," he said flatly to his family, gathered in the parlor before dinner, and he gave the telegram to his mother.

"What?" Victoria said.

"Not at all?" Audra asked.

"Not anytime soon," Nick said.

"Oh, he says he has a big trial starting next week," Victoria said. "He says he'll write more in a letter."

Audra looked more upset than anyone. "I haven't seen him in months. I was hoping he'd be here over the weekend."

"Yeah, well, with his practice only in San Francisco these days, he's got a different set of priorities," Heath said.

"More important than us?" Audra asked.

"Haven't they always been more important than us?" Nick grumbled.

"Nick," his mother warned him, "we went through all this before he left. He's entitled to his own life. He's put years of schooling and energy into building his practice, and he's a respected attorney all over northern California. Yes, that is more important than we are right now, and how can you blame him for that? Isn't this ranch more important to you than he is?"

"No," Nick said flatly, then thought about it. "Yeah, you're right, it is. But that's because it supports us all. Jarrod is just supporting Jarrod."

"He's paying our attorney's fees, remember? And he's entitled to take care of himself first at this point in his life, so let him be," Victoria said.

Audra thought about it. "Maybe he'll marry again and start a family now that he's broken away."

Nick looked at her, then at his mother. Heath, on the other hand, understood where his sister was coming from and smiled. "Just like you think you want to do, Audra?"

Audra smiled a little. "I think I am ready – if I can find the right man who's ready to start a family with me."

Everyone smiled then. Nick gave his sister a peck on the cheek. "I think we all know who that's likely to be."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Audra woke up, believing she was dreaming, but in fact her throat was amazingly dry, so dry she couldn't breathe. She sat up planning to get a drink of water, but she couldn't seem to get her bearings. Even in the darkness, she felt like the room was spinning and spinning and it wouldn't stop.

She lay back down fast and even then, she could tell something was wrong. The bedsheets were wet, and she realized she was perspiring and was hot, very hot.

 _Oh, my God,_ she thought. _I'm sick. How did I get sick?_

She got scared. She had heard about all the exotic diseases an American could pick up in Europe. Had she caught one of them?

"Mother – " she croaked, but hardly any sound came out.

She had to get some water. She sat up again, but the room wouldn't hold still. Holding onto the bed, she made her way toward the dresser where the pitcher of water and a glass were waiting. But there was a good four feet between the end of her bed and the dresser. She tried to hold onto the bed and reach the dresser.

She fell, grabbing for the dresser. The pitcher of water, the glass and the basin all crashed to the floor, and she hit the floor right behind them.

"Audra?" her mother's voice came in from the door.

"Mother – " she tried again, but the sound wouldn't come out.

"What's going on?" Heath's voice came.

And then Nick's voice was beside her, his hands taking hold of her. "Audra, honey, what's – Mother, she's burning up."

She felt Nick's hands and Heath's hands lifting her and taking her back to the bed, but they just sat her on the edge. "These sheets are soaked," Nick said.

"I better mount up and get the doctor," Heath said and was gone.

"I'm sick – " Audra tried to say, but she had no voice.

Nick kept hold of her while Victoria changed the bedding. Then they put her back down and covered her to keep her warm.

"I'm sick – "Audra tried again, but still had no voice, and now she was shivering, too. At least light was starting to come in through her window. It was dawn.

Victoria's voice said, "Nick, go get more fresh water and a glass. We'd better get some fluid into her."

"Oh, Mother – " Audra croaked again.

Her mother sat down beside her and took her into her arms. "Don't worry, Sweetheart. Heath's gone for the doctor, and Nick will bring some water. Everything will be all right."

 _I feel awful,_ Audra thought. _I'm really, really, sick._

"Shh," Victoria said soothingly. "Everything will be all right."

XXXXXX

Audra wanted to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. She just lay there feeling hot and weak, dizzy and frightened. Her mother kept putting cool compresses on her forehead and giving her sips of water. She was not sick to her stomach but she was not hungry either.

She didn't know when it was that Heath came with the doctor, who ushered her brothers out but kept Victoria with her. While he examined her, Nick and Heath went downstairs to wait. Nick explained to Silas that breakfast would be late and he told him what was happening. Distressed, Silas went about doing anything he thought would keep him busy. Nick and Heath just paced the foyer at the bottom of the stairs.

"Do you think she picked up something in Europe?" Nick speculated.

"I don't know," Heath said. "She hasn't been there for weeks. More likely she picked up something on the trip home, either on the boat or the train."

Nick grumbled an agreement. "There's nothing like this running around here that I know of. But she spent a lot of time with Carl Wheeler yesterday. Maybe we ought to run over there and see if he's got anything going around."

"Can't be anthrax. She's had that."

"I don't know what it could be. I hope the doctor has some ideas."

"Maybe we ought to go ahead and get some breakfast."

"Let's give it a couple more minutes."

Before Nick got the sentence out, the doctor came downstairs, alone.

"How is she?" Nick asked quickly.

"Very sick," the doctor said. "High fever, disoriented and dehydrated. I've given her something to help her sleep, something mild, I don't want to throw her into seizures or the like and we still need to be getting liquid into her. You boys better plan on staying here today. Your mother's going to need help caring for her."

"Is she gonna be all right?" Heath asked.

"I don't know," the doctor said. "Since I don't know what this is or how she caught it, I can't tell how bad it's going to get. For now, trying to keep her fever down and keeping her hydrated is the best we can do. But she's young and strong and otherwise healthy, so the battle's partly won."

"Do you think she could have caught it in Europe?"

"No, I don't think so. More likely she came in close contact with someone on the train who had it – a child coughing, touching something a sick person had touched, something like that. But it really doesn't matter much. It wouldn't change how I'd treat her. Rest, hydration, some broth if she can tolerate it. With any luck, she'll be good as new in a few days."

"Anything we need to look out for?" Nick asked.

"Her fever going up, seizures, serious breathing trouble. So far her breathing is very good. Her lungs are clear. But we don't want a secondary pneumonia setting in. I'll be back this evening. Meanwhile, I suggest one of you boys relieve your mother so she can eat some breakfast. I don't need two patients here."

"You think this thing is contagious?"

"Possibly, but she was too weak for me to question about it. If she caught it from an insect bite or something like that, no, it's not likely contagious. But to be sure, be careful to wash your hands frequently, and see that your mother does. I want fresh water in that basin every time someone uses it."

Nick nodded and looked at Heath. "Why don't you get something to eat? I'll go spell Mother and send her down. You come get me in about an hour, all right?"

Heath nodded and went to the kitchen to talk to Silas, while Nick saw the doctor to the front door.

"Try not to worry," the doctor said. "This thing could peak today and she could be doing better by this evening."

Nick said, "Thanks, doc, we'll see you then."

The doctor left, and Nick went upstairs to Audra's room. His mother was seated in a chair next to the bed and was blotting the perspiration from Audra's face with a damp cloth. Audra was peaceful and still, sighing softly in a light sleep. Victoria looked up at her son.

"Mother, why don't you go get some breakfast?" Nick asked. "I'll take over here for a while, and then Heath will come up."

"Have you eaten yet?" Victoria asked.

"I'll eat when Heath comes up. Go on, please."

Victoria knew that when Nick used the word "please," he was deeply concerned about what was happening around him and she'd better do what he asked. She got up, handing him the cloth. "She can take little sips of water – I've been giving them to her every couple of minutes. I'll have Silas make some broth and bring it up to her later."

"Have him bring some fresh water as soon as he can," Nick said. "We're going to need a lot of it, and you need to wash your hands right now."

Victoria nodded.

Nick gave her a kiss on the top of her head, and she squeezed his hand. "She's gonna be fine, Mother, don't worry," Nick said.

Victoria nodded. "Take your own advice, Nick."

Nick smiled, and as Victoria washed up, he sat down in the chair she had vacated and began to blot the perspiration from his sister's face.

He thought about something suddenly. Jarrod wasn't here anymore. If he were, he'd be Pappy, hovering over all of them to be sure that everyone, not just Audra, was all right. That was Nick's job now. As he looked at his sister's sweet face, he noticed it was distressed even in sleep. The thought hit him, _I'm Pappy now. I'll take care of you and Mother and Heath and everything will be all right._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Audra dreamed she was dancing. There were people all around and fiddle players and banjo players and guitar players by the dozen, everywhere she looked. But then suddenly she was looking at her partner – Carl Wheeler, smiling at her with his sparkling blue eyes, holding her in his muscular arms, dancing as elegantly as anyone she'd seen at a ball in Europe.

And she knew without a doubt that she loved him. She could feel it even in her sleep, the love that had grown for Carl while she was away from him. But he was there in her arms now. She knew she never wanted to let him go.

She sighed and smiled in her sleep, and Heath smiled as he gently touched her forehead with the damp cloth. He'd been with her for about two hours now, feeding her water every few minutes, constantly refreshing the damp cloth. He thought perhaps her fever was easing off, but he really wasn't sure.

Then she woke up and saw him, and she smiled.

"Hi, there," Heath said.

"Hi," she said, and Heath lifted her head to give her a sip of water. She took it and lay back again. "I was having a nice dream."

"I could tell," Heath said and dabbed some perspiration from her cheeks. "You've been smiling. Are you feeling any better?"

Audra closed her eyes. "The room is still spinning around. But I don't feel so cold – or so hot. Maybe I'm a little better. How did I get sick? Did I catch it in Europe?"

"Dr. Merar doesn't think so. He thinks maybe you caught it back east or on the train. Don't worry. You'll fight it off."

"Oh," she suddenly realized. "I'm going to miss the dance. Carl asked me to the dance. Somebody better tell Carl I'm sick."

"Nick already sent somebody," Heath said. "Mother told us about the dance. You'd be proud of Nick. He's moving right into the Pappy role, easy as you please."

"No, no," Audra said. "He'll always be Nick. Jarrod is Pappy. And you – you're my favorite brother."

Heath chuckled. "You just rest and sleep some more. You'll be good as new when the next dance rolls around."

Audra started to drift off, but before she did, she said, "Don't let Carl find someone else in the meantime."

Nick had come in as she was saying it. He echoed Heath's quiet chuckle. Heath looked over his shoulder and saw him. "She's got her cap set for Carl now, doesn't she?" Nick said.

"Looks like it," Heath said. "I hope Carl has the same thing in mind."

"I suspect he does," Nick said. "We'll have to get our little sister well in time to get courted and have a June wedding."

"I thought her fever might be down, but now I'm not so sure. She's really sweating a lot. We're gonna have to change these sheets again in a bit." Heath lifted Audra's head. "Here, honey, drink some more water."

Audra sipped it without appearing to wake up.

"I wish I knew where she picked this up and if it's contagious," Heath said.

"Well, we'll find out before too long if it's contagious, because the rest of us are likely to come down with it if it is. Good thing Jarrod didn't come. He's a terrible patient."

Heath chuckled. "You're not so great yourself."

"Yeah, well, tell you what, little brother. If we both get sick, I'll make you a bet, and Mother can be the judge – who's worse, you or me, and I'll bet you ten dollars it's – okay, well, it'll be me."

Heath suddenly sobered. "I don't want make any bets anyway. I just want our little sister to get well."

"Yeah, well, you go get some sleep. Mother is napping. I'll give you three hours then wake you and sleep some myself. I'll plan to spend the night here tonight. We'll let Mother get whatever sleep she can today, because I'll lay odds she won't get any tonight if Audra is still running a fever."

Heath got up and handed Nick the damp cloth. "Best you and I change these sheets before I go. I'll get some clean ones."

Nick put the cloth down on the chair and lifted Audra gently by her shoulders. She moaned softly. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty," Nick said. "Heath and I will make you more comfortable."

XXXXXXX

The day went on with Audra sleeping, but as evening approached she seemed to get worse. She perspired even more, and her sleep seemed to be full of nightmares, not happy dreams. She was shivering at times and boiling over at others. By the time the doctor came back, none of her family was willing to leave her.

But the doctor chased her brothers out right away and asked Victoria to stay and help him. The first thing he did was pull the blanket down and examine her arms.

"What are you looking for?" Victoria asked.

"Any evidence of an insect bite," Dr. Merar said. "This doesn't look like something you just pick up from another person. This looks like an insect borne disease."

Dr. Merar lifted her arms and examined them carefully. It was on the second pass that he saw something, on the inside of her upper right arm, close to her armpit.

"Here it is," he said, and pointed.

Victoria looked. There was something that looked like a bite, but it looked like it had been healing for more than a week. "It looks like a spider bite."

"That's my guess, too. Probably itched her like crazy, but when it stopped, she quit thinking about it. I'll bet she got it more than a week ago and it took this long for the disease to incubate."

"What does it mean? Can you do anything for her?"

Dr. Merar shook his head. "All it means is that she's probably not contagious. She's still going to be very sick for a while. You say she just got in from Washington?"

"Yesterday."

"Eastern insects carry different diseases than we see out here. That's why she's having so much trouble with it – no immunity at all."

Victoria had to steel herself to ask the next question. "Will she recover?"

"It's like I said before. Keep her hydrated and resting. She's young and strong and has that in her favor, but it's going to be a rough night, Victoria."

"Can you stay, doctor?"

Dr. Merar smiled and nodded. "I'll stay, though I doubt I can do much other than be moral support for you."

"That would help a lot."

"You just keep your own strength up. Eat properly, get some rest."

Victoria gave a tiny, ironic smile. "That's very hard to do when it's your child who's ill. Silas will have some food for you in the kitchen. We're eating in shifts, I'm afraid."

The doctor smiled. "I'll see that Nick and Heath eat as well, but I want one of them to stay with her tonight. I want you to try to sleep."

Victoria nodded.

Dr. Merar went downstairs and found Audra's worried brothers at the bottom of the stairway. "Well," he said, "at least I found the source of her illness. Looks like she got a spider bite back east."

"A spider?" Nick said, incredulous.

"They carry different diseases than we see out here," the doctor said. "So, Audra lacks immunity. It doesn't change how we treat it – there's no medicine I can give her that would help. Keep her resting and hydrated and let her own system beat it back."

"Will it?" Heath asked. "Will she be all right?"

"I can't guarantee an outcome, Heath. She may have a long way to go. But at least it seems unlikely that she's contagious. Keep your cleanliness habits, though. I'll be staying the night, mainly for your mother's sake. She needs to get a good night's rest if she can. One of you ought to stay with Audra tonight."

Her brothers looked at each other in silent agreement. Nick said, "I'll take half the night and Heath will take the other half. Do you think we ought to get Jarrod back here?"

Dr. Merar shook his head. "By the time he could get here, we would probably know the outcome – and I am very hopeful that she will be awake and feeling spoiled by then. How is your brother anyway?"

"Fine last we heard. He's got a big trial or he'd already be here."

Dr. Merar gave a grumble and a nod and then said, "Victoria suggested I get a bite to eat in the kitchen."

"Silas will take care of you," Nick said. "We all ate already – I think."

"I ate, then Mother ate, then I guess you ate, Nick," Heath said.

Nick nodded, and the doctor said, "As long as you all take care of yourselves."

Dr. Merar headed for the kitchen, and Nick and Heath watched him go.

Heath said, "I wish there was more we could do for her."

"Yeah," Nick said. He looked at his watch. "It's past seven. I'll go stay with Audra and Mother until midnight, then you come in at midnight, all right?"

"So long as you chase Mother out by nine or ten."

Nick nodded with a deep sigh. "I'll carry her out myself if I have to."

They started to climb the stairs together. Heath said, "I'll turn in for a few hours. Make sure you call me if you need me."

Nick said, "Right."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Things turned bad at about eleven o'clock. Until then, Audra had been sleeping quietly, still perspiring, but suddenly she began pulling at her blankets and thrashing about. Alone then, Nick had begun to drift off but he woke up as soon as she started moving around. He felt her forehead right away. She was blazing hot.

Too hot. Nick gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Easy, honey, it'll be all right."

Nick then hurried to Heath's room and woke him up. Heath had been sleeping atop his bed, still fully dressed. Nick shook him, and he snapped awake.

"She's burning up, worse than ever," Nick said. "Get some ice from downstairs and bring it up. I'll wake the doctor."

Heath pulled on his boots and hurried downstairs.

Nick woke Dr. Merar, who also slept fully dressed, and the two of them ran back to Audra's room. They tried not to wake Victoria at this point, but as soon as Dr. Merar got a look at Audra and felt her forehead, he said, "You'd better wake your mother. She'll hit the roof if we don't."

"I sent Heath down for some ice," Nick said.

The doctor nodded. "We'll need it. Get water and a bathtub, too."

Nick hurried to his mother's room, to find her already up, dressed and about to come out the door. "I heard you moving around," she said. "Audra's worse?"

"The doc's with her," is all Nick said.

Victoria went back to Audra's room while Nick fetched a bathtub. Audra was still thrashing about, mumbling, pulling at the bedclothes. Dr. Merar was trying to calm her with his voice and gentle hands on her shoulders, but she couldn't hear or feel him.

"I'm going to give her a little something to calm her down," Dr. Merar said. "When the ice and the tub get here, we're going to have to get water in there too and then put Audra in it. I think you and I can do it and spare her dignity in front of her brothers, but if we need them, modesty will have to go out the window."

Victoria nodded.

Heath arrived shortly with two buckets of ice, and Nick arrived with the tub. Dr. Merar sent Heath for two buckets of water. He was back in a few moments.

They put the ice and the water in the tub.

"Do you have more ice?" the doctor asked.

Heath nodded. "But not a lot."

"We might need it."

Victoria sat at her daughter's side, blotting the sweat off her forehead. Audra had quieted down a bit – the medicine Dr. Merar had given her was having effect – but she was still burning up.

"It might be a rough night," Dr. Merar warned them.

Nick squeezed his mother's shoulder as she nodded an understanding.

Dr. Merar said, "Nick, Heath, you go on outside the door. I think Victoria and I can get Audra into the tub, but if we need you, we'll yell."

Nick and Heath nodded and left, but they waited right outside the closed door. They looked at each other, worried as much as they had ever been before, worried beyond words.

XXXXX

It was a terrible night. At about one o'clock, Heath woke a couple of men in the bunkhouse and had them ride to the closest neighbors to get more ice. When he went back into the house, he found Nick coming down the stairs. Nick stopped him.

"Doctor said to get out again," Nick said.

"Mother's still there?" Heath asked.

Nick nodded and sank down to sit on the steps. Exhausted, he wiped sweat off his own forehead. "I'm really scared, Heath."

"I know," Heath said. "So am I. But you remember that time she got appendicitis on the train? She scared us then, too, but she pulled through. She is a Barkley."

"Even Barkleys can't pull through everything," Nick said.

Heath sat down beside him. He didn't know what to say. He glanced upstairs, then back down at his own hands. "She travels all the way around the world and catches something from a spider in Washington. Hardly seems fair for her to have to go through this now."

Nick smiled suddenly. "When she was a little girl, Jarrod and I took her riding – she was maybe four, it was right before Jarrod went off to the war. It was one of the first times she sat a horse by herself. Wouldn't you know, she went tumbling off before we got a mile away from home. Hit her head, there was blood everywhere. She didn't black out but she cried and cried and scared us half to death. Mother took care of it and an hour later, Audra was smiling again. Just a kiss and a bandage was all it took. I wish a kiss and bandage could cure this."

Again, Heath did not know what to say. He just stared at his hands. Quietly, privately, he said a prayer, asking God to spare his sister, to help her through this night and help her get well again soon. He also prayed for his Mother and brother to have strength. They had known and loved Audra a lot longer than he had. Not that he loved her any less, just not as long. He prayed for more time to know and love her.

The doctor waved them back up in about half an hour. As they came through the door, he said, "We bathed her all over in ice again, and she's a bit cooler, but her fever hasn't broken yet. Maybe you two can get your mother to go back to bed now."

Victoria heard him. "I can sleep later," she said. "I'm not leaving my daughter tonight."

Dr. Merar looked at the Barkley men and just shrugged.

XXXXXXXX

Nobody left Audra that night. The hands who had gone to the neighbors' places came back with more ice. Dr. Merar and the Barkley men pulled off the wet sheets and blankets and remade the bed with fresh linens. They woke Silas to ask his help in finding more dry linen. He was with them after that, awake for the rest of the night.

Victoria drifted in and out of sleep in the chair – Nick and Heath sat down on the floor and drifted in and out for hours. Dr. Merar stayed awake – sleepless nights were not all that unusual to him. He checked on Audra frequently, and fortunately, her sweating was beginning to ease off.

Dawn began to show through the window after what seemed like days, not hours. Dr. Merar had been checking Audra's temperature every hour or so, and he checked again as soon as natural light allowed. He blew out the lamps as it grew even lighter in the room.

"How is she doing?" Nick asked.

"She's staying cooler," Dr. Merar said.

"Has the fever broke?" Heath asked.

"Maybe," Dr. Merar said. "We'll see in a few hours."

Silas began to drag himself up off the floor. Nick and Heath both jumped up to help him. "Got to fix breakfast," Silas said.

Nick chuckled a little. "I don't think anybody will mind if you're a little slower than usual. Thanks for staying with us tonight, Silas."

"Where else would I be, Mr. Nick?" Silas asked with a smile, then left the room to prepare the morning meal.

Nick approached his mother, who was still sitting in the chair, and kissed her on the top of her head. Victoria smiled wearily, taking hold of Audra's hand. "She does feel cooler," Victoria said.

Dr. Merar bent over his patient. "Audra?" he asked quietly. "Do you hear me?"

"I hear you," she whispered.

Dr. Merar looked to Heath. "Bring some water."

Heath fetched a glass and brought it over to the doctor. He lifted Audra's head and gave her a sip. She took it, then he laid her back.

"You're going to be all right, honey," Victoria said to her daughter, stroking her hand.

"I know," Audra said quietly, "but I wish I could go to the dance."

Everyone chuckled. "There will be many other dances, sweetheart," Victoria said.

"Hmm," Audra said and slipped back off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The worst was over. Audra slept the next day away, but her fever slipped away, too. Victoria was able to get her to take some broth by the end of the day, and Dr. Merar felt it was safe for him to leave.

Her mother and brothers stayed with Audra one more night, taking shifts, but she slept deeply and peacefully. When the sun came up in the morning, her mother was with her, and Audra woke up to find her asleep in the chair. Audra smiled and sat up on the side of the bed. The room did not spin, but she felt too shaky to get up. She placed her hand atop her mother's and was smiling when her mother stirred and opened her eyes.

"Good morning, Mother," she said, still weak.

"Good morning, Audra," Victoria said, smiling.

"Do you think I might be able to have some of Silas's scrambled eggs for breakfast?" Audra asked.

Victoria was glad to hear her ask, but she said, "Maybe you should start out with a soft-boiled egg."

XXXXX

A few hours later, Nick answered a knock at the front door and found his old friend Carl Wheeler standing there. "Carl!" he said, surprised. "Come on in!"

Carl came in, his hat in his hands. "I wanted to see how Audra was doing. Everybody missed her mightily at the dance."

Nick smiled. "She's doing a lot better this morning," Nick said. "Still in bed, though. Why don't you come up for a minute?"

"You're sure it's okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine, " Nick said and led him up the stairs. "I'll chaperone."

Carl chuckled.

When they got to Audra's room, Nick opened the door and led Carl in. "You got a visitor," Nick said to his sister.

Carl was reluctant to enter. It was a woman's bedroom, after all – Audra's bedroom. But Audra was sitting up in bed, a book in her lap, and she said, "Carl!" with such delight that he felt instantly at ease.

She looked a bit wilted, but still beautiful to him. "How are you feeling, Audra?" Carl asked.

"Oh, I'm much better, thank you," she said, extending her hand.

Carl took it and sat in the chair by her bed. "You had everybody at the dance last night worried. Thought I'd better come make sure these cowpoke brothers of yours were taking good care of you."

Audra looked up at Nick. "Excellent care. But I'll bet I'm a sight," she said, smoothing her hair and fearing it was flat and ugly.

"You're a beautiful sight," Carl said. "When you're up and around, I'll take you for a spin down in the parlor."

"I'll hold you to that," Audra said.

"All right, all right," Nick said. "No thoughts about dancing just yet. You have a way to go before you're up to that."

"Brothers," Audra said. "They may know how to look after you, but they don't know when to stop."

Carl smiled. "I can't stay anyway. Got plenty of work to do before the weather turns cold. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Audra smiled. "I'm going to be fine, and we'll be dancing soon."

Victoria and Heath were at her door and overheard the conversation. "Nick and I were hoping for a June wedding," Heath said quietly.

Victoria smiled even more. "I'll start planning right away."

The End


End file.
